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Birds were singing, the sun was shining with temperatures in the mid-60s Saturday afternoon melting away the last of the snow.

It was enough to lead to one inescapable conclusion: Another snowstorm must be on the way.

Or so it has seemed this year.

The winter that won't end is set to strike another blow Sunday night and foul the Monday morning commute after yet another brief flirtation with spring.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for New Castle County from 8 p.m. Sunday until noon Monday. The weather service is now calling for 4 to 6 inches.

A winter storm warning has been issued in Kent and Sussex counties for the same time period, with 6 to 10 inches of snow now predicted.

On Sunday evening, the Music School of Delaware announced that their Wilmington branch will open at noon on Monday, due to expected poor weather.

Light rain and snow are expected to move into the state late in the day before changing to all snow overnight. Wind gusts of 25 to 40 mph are possible, and visibility will drop to one-half mile or less at times. Snowfall rates of an inch per hour are likely in Kent and Sussex counties during the storm.

Meteorologist Anthony Gigi with the National Weather Service in Mt. Holly, N.J., said the shifting storm track has made predictions difficult.

"I don't think the state is going to escape this," he cautioned. "It's an icy combination so that the Monday morning commute does not look that good."

Precipitation may start as rain and then freeze and turn into snow overnight, he said.

Jim Westhoff of the Delaware Department of Transportation said crews and equipment are ready, though the decision on when they will be called in will be made after updated forecasts are reviewed Sunday morning.

Some pre-treating of roads with brine was done on Saturday in New Castle County and will be done Sunday in Sussex. Westhoff said in Kent County, forecasts are calling for rain before snow, so crews have not pre-treated the roads since the brine would wash away. He said the state has plenty of rock salt – 30,000 tons – to put down once the snow starts falling.

Westhoff said a storm that develops overnight like this "is one of the most difficult challenges we face." Many commuters are out on the roads and crews haven't had much time to put down salt and plow.

"Hopefully people can work from home if possible or go to work later. The fewer people on the road, the better we can do our job," he said.

So far, Delaware has received 52.9 inches of snow this winter according to meteorologist Gigi and this new accumulation – if it materializes – is set to make this – officially this time – the second snowiest winter in state history.

Forecasters originally – and prematurely – declared this the second-snowiest winter due to a miscalculation that neglected the winter of 1995-96.

If exactly 3 inches fall, the state will tie the 55.9 inches of snowfall in 1995-96, and anything more will surpass that second-place mark. The all-time high of 72.8 inches was set in the winter of 2009-10.

The recent strings of temperature swings, like Saturday's shift from the 60s to the 20s and Wednesday's drop from nearly 70 to the 20s may seem unusual, Gigi said. But such unsettled weather is typical this time of year. "In March you have these wild swings," he said.

He said temperatures should return to a more moderate range with highs in the mid-50s on Thursday, but he could not promise that this is the last of the snow.

"Not with the current weather pattern," he said, adding that with snow still on the ground across Canada any pattern that moves air here from the north brings the possibility of more cold and snow.

"But hopefully this will be the last of the roadway-problem snow," he said.

Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan.